Skiing at Crystal Mountain

Crystal Mountain is a world class ski resort, rated by SKIING magazine as the #7 ski resort in North America. Experienced skiers are drawn to the expert runs comprising nearly half of the terrain and the 1,000 acres of skiable backcountry areas.

Road Conditions

Star Party and Night Skies Program at Paradise – 9:00 PM – Friday August 5, 2011

DATE: 8/2/11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-_Curt Jacquot, 360-569-6577, email: [email protected]_-_Families and individuals of all ages are invited to the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park for a special program on Friday, August 5. The event starts at 9:00 PM in the lobby of the Paradise Inn with a short presentation about the National Park Service ight Skies program. The National Park Service has come to embrace night skies as one of the many scenic vistas the agency is a steward of. It is essential to keeping a park whole and touches on almost every aspect that is important to us – from sustainability to stargazers, and animals to ancient ruins.

At 9:45 PM there will be outdoor star gazing in front of the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center with Tacoma Astronomical Society (TAS) volunteers and their telescopes. Astronomy Society volunteers will also assistwith special children’s astronomy activities. All ages will be able to make astronomy devices called star finders.

If weather makes star gazing difficult, the party will move inside the Paradise Inn lobby for a 45-minute film about the Milky Way galaxy.

Night Sky viewing at the park through Labor Day< /strong>

Visitors are also invited to join Mount Rainier volunteer astronomer-interpreter Don West-Wilke for night sky viewing Thursdays through Sundays through Labor Day. Don and his unique telescope will help visitors see the night sky (weather permitting) beginning at 10 PM at the following park locations:Thursdays: Longmire Plaza in front of the National Park Inn. Fridays: Plaza in front of the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center. Saturdays: Plaza in front of the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center. Sundays: Backbone Ridge pull-out along Steven’s Canyon Road. Mondays: Plaza in front of the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center.

Event Details

Event Details

The magic of THE POLAR EXPRESS™ comes to life in Elbe, Washington. This story of a child’s Christmas Eve journey comes alive on-board THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride. All ages can enjoy the warmth and fun of the Christmas season as you depart for a trip to the North Pole.

THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride, like the movie, is a 90-minute roundtrip immersive theatrical experience. Passengers will be entertained by Chefs, enjoy Hot Chocolate and Cookies, and listen to a reading of THE POLAR EXPRESS™. Upon arrival at the North Pole, Santa will board the train and give each child the first gift of Christmas (a silver bell). This event will surely become an annual tradition for the whole family. Families are encouraged to wear their pajamas for the ride and join in on the magic of Christmas!

All tickets are for reserved seats, allowing your party to select their configuration of seats together. All of our coaches are heated. Restrooms are available at the train depot, with limited restrooms available on the train. Standard Class train coaches are Tacoma Rail cars representative of the 1950’s era Amtrak passengers cars with comfortable front-facing upholstered seats in paired rows. First Class vintage Olympian Hiawatha cars feature table-and-chair configuration, which allows for parties of 4 to sit facing each other. In Standard Class, hot chocolate is served with a cookie, the cocoa is in a disposable mug. First Class includes a collector’s edition souvenir mug with your hot chocolate and cookie. The mug is exclusively available to First Class passengers and cannot be found in stores.